Friday, August 31, 2007

-It is interesting where a photography series may lead one. From an inconvenience to the subject matter. Here in Manila power lines are an unavoidable fact of life, it was a case of if you can't beat 'em join 'em. And what is an eye sore can become a thing of beauty.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

After the last few weeks of working on the admin stuff of getting the ANU exhibition into shape it is great to get back into the studio and do some real work.

I had, over the past weeks of going to the printers, driven past this scene and on Friday had enough time to stop and take some shots. Manila is awash with power lines, it is the first thing you notice damn near, and I just love the way they break up the skyline. There is something akin to a jazz riff in their tangle.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

As you can see posts here this month have been a bit on the sparse side. It has been a busy month in other areas and The Expat drew the short straw.

I have finally got my myspace page looking like something worth visiting. You can see it here and if you feel inclined to become a friend it’s “Bateman” in the Last Name box.

The selection of images and their printing for the Canberra exhibition has been completed. In fact they were delivered into care of FedEx yesterday. I now wait with baited breath for news of their safe arrival. The invitations have been designed, the catalogue details written along with press release.

I have also been researching, writing and sourcing images for a couple of articles for the Expat Travel & Lifestyle Philippines magazine. The article about the Philippine’s Easter Shrines is done and in the editor’s hands. The story about photography scene here has 300 words on paper, another 300 in my head and 300 that need to be found before the first week in September deadline.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are un-winnable, well for the forces of the invaders primarily because their isn’t a stream of immigrants chomping at the bit to pick up the spoils of victory.

Unlike Australia, USA and Canada were the genocide of the native inhabitants allowed peoples from some other place to came and take root nobody is queuing up to make a new home in these promised lands.

Eventually the invaders will tire of their sport, as did the British and Russians in Afghanistan and the Americans in Vietnam, fold up their tents and head for home.

A draft will only speed up this process which will be bloody good news for the Iraqis and Afghanis.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

"The worse thing that happens to guards in a prison is they get bored. And the guards, especially on the night shift -- and this is true, both at Stanford (and we can talk later about Abu Ghraib), the worst abuses happen in both on the night shift."

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The expat

Henry Bateman is an artist and writer currently living in Australia, a return home after living in the Philippines for 10 years. The Ex Expat, is his blog about the arts (often) and politics (sometimes).
His writing has been published by Crikey.com (Australia), Artslant (US), The Expat Travel & Lifestyle Magazine & The Expat Newspaper (both in the Philippines) and The Western Review (Australia).
He has also had seven solo exhibitions and has had his work shown in 15 group exhibitions as well as 35 theater commissions as a set designer and/or lighting designer.